User Reviews

I never heard of this movie as a kid, but I recently heard a few people naming it as the most disturbing/upsetting children's film/cartoon they've seen. I actually didn't like Disney's Pinocchio (along with ET, it's one of the classics I can't get into), but I decided to watch the Emperor of the Night movie on-line. As a person who never liked the original Pinocchio, it's probably to this movie's credit that I think it's not bad. But I don't think it's the most disturbing children's film or cartoon. I think most children could handle it. It's just that the villain, voiced by James Earl Jones, may be a little scary. He's sort of a demon, but the Wizard of Oz, Wicked Witch and numerous Disney villains have the same effect. Moreover, James Earl Jones' character doesn't show up until pretty late in the film, and everything up to that point is tame.

It's been a year since Pinocchio became a real boy and he's warned by his fairy godmother that he could become a puppet again if he takes his "freedom for granted." Pinocchio eventually finds himself at a carnival where he falls in love with a girl puppet, and is transformed back into a puppet himself. He eventually enters this strange world (the Empire of the Night) where he meets the villain and finds out his freedom of choice is still powerful. Teaching values of freedom and choice should be important. Generally, this movie's not bad.

a good Pinocchio sequel although the new characters are quite different but cool i guess i have this one on video the whole movie was pretty good and had some scary moments for example the "Scary Transformation Sequence'' that was really wrong but anyway the whole movie was OK for a sequel and plus this movie has new characters like Lt. Grumblebee, Puppetino, The Emperor of the Night, Scalawag, Igor, Twinkle, and Gee Wilikers. i like the new people it fits good for a sequel. so the movie starts as Pinocchio has been a real boy for one whole year and is celebrating his first human birthday but things go wrong when a carnival comes to town and two bums trade Pinocchio's jewel box for a pharaoh's ruby and the plot darkens when he returns home and his father is upset when he finds out Pinocchio traded something for something fake and grounds him for that and Pinocchio believes he was too untrusted to be his real father and runs away from home and ends up at the carnival looking for a job and he goes sees twinkle's performance of "Do what makes you Happy'' after that's done, Puppetino comes out and lures Pinocchio backstage and tells him what it takes to be a performer he shyly admits it and knows what is really going on after seeing his hand and that's when it starts the scary transformation sequence and Pinocchio starts to dance uncontrollably against his will and Puppetino reattaches strings to him Legs and Feet Pinocchio does try to escape however and he gets pulled back to his will and Pinocchio says "i didn't know that i *click* *click*'' and Puppetino swings him around not to mention scary puppet faces in the background and twinkle's face turning sad and Pinocchio has been completely changed back into a puppet and is now the carnival's "only'' attraction. now that's something you should not see in a cartoon.

Produced at a time when animation was in a serious slump, this rather curious feature, produced by Filmation Studios, attempts to make a sequel out of a now famous fairy tale, Carlo Collidi's PINOCCHIO. Walt Disney had made the story popular in his lavishly animated and emotionally powerful motion picture, and to this day it remains a masterpiece. Based on that, there is no way that this 1987 continuation could ever compare. Regrettably, the artistry in this movie doesn't live up to the original either. For a production made by 400 animators in three years at a cost of $8 million, PINOCCHIO AND THE EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT looks pretty shabby, no better than an average Saturday morning cartoon.

There are also many instances where this movie attempts to steal thunder from the legendary Disney masterpiece, too. In place of Jiminy Cricket, we have a wooden-carved glowbug named Gee Willickers (voice of Don Knotts); a con artist raccoon named Scalawag (Ed Asner) and his pet monkey Igor (Frank Welker) in place of Honest John and Gideon (these characters shift into true allies in the movie); standing in for Lampwick is a pretty blonde named Twinkle (Lana Beeson) who serves as a sort of love interest for our hero. Finally, in the roles of the nasty puppeteer and nasty Coachman we have the shady-looking Puppetino as well as the titular villain, a sort of titanic, nightmarish robed demon with multiple arms and the booming tones of James Earl Jones. Unfortunately, these stand-ins could never hope to hold a candle to their predecessors or emerge as particularly memorable creations on their own. There's even a half-man half bumblebee who attempts to provide comic relief, but comes across as nothing more than a "buzzing" nuisance.

Set one year after Pinocchio has become a real boy, this second chapter begins when a scary looking carnival comes into town. Our not so wooden hero runs away to the carnival after bungling a special errand for his father, Geppetto (he had been conned into giving up a precious jeweled box to Scalawag and Igor). In a rather frightening sequence -- one of the few that actually emerges as truly effective -- Pinocchio is transformed into a puppet again after being seduced to the carnival by the mustache-twirling Puppetino. Rather predictably, the Fairy Godmother (lamely voiced by Billie Lee Jones) rescues him, and the usual adventures ensue which lead up to the obligatory final showdown with the main villain.

In addition to providing a rather uninspired plot, PINOCCHIO AND THE EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT unwisely also recycles concepts from the first movie; Pinocchio lies to his Fairy Godmother again and his nose grows, Geppetto sets off to find his missing boy, Pinocchio is still gullible enough to trust ne'er-do-wells Scalawag and Igor after they deceive him one time, and everybody ends up at an amusement park where naughty boys can do whatever they please. All are routinely and lifelessly presented, although the latter sequence is trippy and creepy enough to stand on its own; Pinocchio gets drunk in this scene, too. The scene where Pinocchio dances and sings with glittery showgirls is also pretty schizophrenic, but again, it brings up reminders about a similar and more believably executed scene from Disney's film. The movie is also handicapped with a rather dreary synthesizer-driven soundtrack and unmemorable songs; the Fairy Godmother's song is acknowledgingly nice, but nowhere near the same caliber of "When You Wish Upon A Star." Furthermore, of the vocal performances, only Scott Grimes as Pinocchio himself stands out, but a majority of the remaining cast are pretty much run of the mill (as mentioned, the Fairy Godmother is the worst offender--sounding totally lifeless and boring throughout). Even James Earl Jones, awesome a voice though he may have, doesn't have much to do with his scanty role of the Emperor of the Night.

Taken on its own, this PINOCCHIO sequel is passable fare, although some sequences do come across as too frightening for youngsters (particularly the appearance of the central villain), and others ineptly silly for grown-ups. There are some creepy sequences and moments of genuine terror, but all in all, children and parents aren't likely find much magic within its 95 minute running time. In all fairness, PINOCCHIO AND THE EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT is not as disastrous as Roberto Benigni's travesty, but it lacks that certain special magic to achieve anything close to classic status. As it stands, it's only so-so.

i love this film the songs in it are brilliant it is very dark at times i.e. the part where Pinocchio turns back into a puppet puppetino is very creepy in this scene with that laugh of his and the part the land where dreams come true where the emperor of the night is superb (with James earl Jones voicing him) these scenes are what i always remember about the film but what the film is trying to tell us is that we should never take the freedom we have for granted or else we might lose it and become mere puppets like the ones in the film the animation might not be pixar class but they were good for its time and like i said i believe that this film is a masterpiece in its own right and not a Disney rip off

Pinocchio and the emperor of the night is a film I am sure would have repelled more 4-year olds than draw them in with its horrifying imagery for a G rating. But as a film for anyone over 9 years old, I think it is a movie that holds up very well, and is often forgotten. I think it even trumps the Disney film! But why? Well, here we go! This was made by filmation, who also created He-man and all the Archiecomics cartoons. The animation is stunning and you can tell a lot of effort was put into it. The characters are believable and fun to watch. Especially the main villain, the emperor of the night, which has that whole Shiva thing going on with more than two arms. This movie is an alternate time line to the original fairytale, in which the event where the blue fairy changed pinocchio happened, but nothing else. At least I think it is. Everyone else I run into thinks it is a direct sequel, but I personally think it has to be an alternate time line, but the film doesn't explain very well, mystifying most people. However, the songs are mostly bland and forgettable. They are okay at best, except for the blue fairy song, which is horrendous. But, this movie has great voice acting and a very ambient and well- defined tone to it. It has great action, and can be suspenseful and fun, especially near the end when Pinocchio and the emperor of the night are battling over buying Pinocchio's soul. The character designs are really cool. I especially love Pinocchio and Gee willikers, the movie's replacement of Jimminy cricket. I also liked their design of the blue fairy over the one from the Disney version. This is a very well done movie with plenty of good things going for it. I recommend to check it out if you are deep into obscure animated movies with an edge that time forgot.

I remember seeing this as a kid the emperor scared me actually I found did really nice and that it teaches a valuable lesson to all of us

With only a small bit of the plot in my memory I tracked this video down and purchased it and it was worth looking for.

This may not be big budget and it may not be well known but it has a really cute story line.

It is important to note that this film may be too scary for young kids. Make sure you know what will scare your child. You may want to watch this before you let your kids see it.

This movie if full of color and fun songs. The characters are funny. Two bandit thieves trick Pinocchio out of a special gem and he has to go to the Carnival to get it back. The evil Emperor of the night it out to get Pinocchio's free will to destroy the good fairy. Overall it's worth at least giving it a chance. Don't miss great videos just because they aren't blockbusters.

If you enjoyed this look for Gallavants Happily Ever After (the continuation of Snow White) Little Nemo Adventures in Slumberland

With 'The Little Mermaid' and 'Beauty and the Beast' Disney effectively kicked off the animation horse race that brought animated features out of the kiddie show doldrums. With that, lazy unimaginative studios like Filmation could no longer exist. There is justice in this world.

You know Filmation, it's that studio that created all those tedious Saturday morning cartoons and managed to carry their Tarzan series for three seasons without creating a single new animated cell. Filmation's usual technique was to loop the same shots over and over and over and just change the dialogue. Their only memorable product was Fat Albert but that was because it had Bill Cosby behind it. Filmation was as welcome as flypaper spinning television shows into worthless cartoon shows like M*U*S*H (which was M*A*S*H with dogs) and Gilligan's Planet (with the castaways traveling through space). Yeah, I know Their last gasp for some kind of relief was 'Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night', an unbelievable animated toiletbrush which again sponges off someone else's success. In this case it's a sequel to Disney's Pinocchio, trying to continue the story even though there is no story to continue.

It has been a year since Pinocchio has gotten his RB status and as the 'story' opens he is sent on a simple errand to deliver a jewel box and becomes fodder for a scheming raccoon. It's not that difficult for the raccoon to filch the box since Pinocchio insists on walking down the street with it held out in his hands but never mind. Shamed that he could have been such a moron, he runs away to the carnival and runs into a puppet master named Puppetino (don't ask) and we find out that the carnival is really a front for his schemes and scams and believe me you see all this coming from the moment Pinocchio steps out the Geppetto's front door. ovals. Along the way we meet other characters one just as innocuous as the last with names like Grumblebee and Gee Willikers and we meet the Emperor who is cross between Cherborg from Fantasia and that floating wizard head from 'The Wizard of Oz'. There are songs in the movie stitched together I think from cereal commericals, Christian rock albums and those tapes they make with music to put babies to sleep (it worked on me anyway). The prime top 40 wannabe here is 'Love Is the Light Inside Your Heart', a title so unmemorable that I had to look that title up for this review and check it twice as I was writing it down.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse but I would have thought that Filmation would have learned it's lesson after it's execrable Snow White sequel 'Happily Ever After'. 'Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night', I swear could be chopped into three minute bits and injected into toy and cereal commercials and I guarantee that you would never know the difference.